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the following players both learned and crafted their skills in English County Cricket:

Greenidge - Hampshire
Haynes - Middlesex
Richards - Somerset
Kallicharan - Warwickshire
Rowe -Derbyshire
Lloyd - Lancashire
King - Glamorgan, Worcestershire
Murray - Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire
Roberts - Leicestershire
Holding - Lancashire, Derbyshire
Garner - Somerset
Marshall - Hampshire
Croft - Lancashire

The administration of the WICBC (as it was known in those days) never took issue with these players plying their trade abroad. They earned money, developed their game and went on to shape the greatest ever WI team.

I ask myself if these idiots who are currently in charge of WI Cricket (especially the biggest of then all, Cameron) didn't follow cricket in those days and cannot seem to realize that it is only because of this exposure that these players went on to become so successful.

Why is it that the current WICB is so averse to and has chosen to inhibit rather then encourage our present group of players from seeking this invaluable foreign exposure in the various leagues (which are now the equivalent of English County Cricket in the 80's) abroad?

You actually think bowling four overs is the same as bowling after tea during a test match, or a Pollard, Russell batting after lunch to set a target or to save a game?

In reply to outside_edge

You have to put things into context. the English season never clashed with our own.

Nowadays with so many T20 leagues and our players playing in all there will always be clashes which are unavoidable. CWI cant match the salaries and the players had to make a choice and they did

In reply to outside_edge

There is a new World Order, whether someone likes it or not, ITS A FACT.

The "County System" was the Premium Domestic League all through the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s.
However, The County system itself faced many challenges, and has undergone many changes to keep itself competitive.
For Examples... Multiple Divisions, Kolpak players etc etc.

Today, it is not this County Cricket, but the T20 Leagues in the world, that have become the desired destinations of the best cricketers in the world.

Also, like fuzzy said, now with so much cricket, there is always a tour or a tournament in the offering.

Earlier, a cricketer would have nothing to do, for 6 months and in which case the County Cricket was an excellent option.